LANSING — The Runway, a fashion incubator in the Knapp's Centre, will leave its downtown space this summer after a nearly four-year run and shift to a virtual business model.

The incubator, which helps fashion entrepreneurs launch new businesses, will leave the Knapp's Centre by July 1 and become a "virtual accelerator." This fall, it will launch “Accelerating the Runway," an eight-week course that connects fashion entrepreneurs with experts and mentors.

The decision to leave the physical space downtown was driven by finances and the needs of the organization's clients, said Bob Trezise, the president and CEO of the Lansing Economic Area Partnership, which manages the incubator.

Renting physical space is expensive, he said, and most of The Runways clients were already opting to participate in its programs virtually.

The Lansing Economic Development Corporation initially signed a 15-year lease for the Runway's roughly 8,000-square-foot space. In October 2015, Lansing Community College signed a contract with the Runway to become the downtown fashion incubator’s anchor tenant.

The college decided to eliminate its fashion technologies program last fall based on reduced enrollment, the number of graduates and the availability of "gainful employment" upon completion, LCC spokesperson Marilyn Twine said in an email.

"At present, the program is in a teach-out phase until students currently enrolled in the program complete their coursework," Twine wrote.

LCC's decision to shutter the program contributed to The Runway's decision to leave its physical space, Trezise said.

"The Runway definitely ignited a fashion industry in our region," Trezise said. "It is doing its job, and we just want to accelerate that job and do even better and this virtual space is going to allow us to do that.”

In its first year, The Runway's Knapp's Centre space served primarily as a retail space that sold clothing and accessories from local designers. It later scaled back the retail element to include more professional resources.

Eyde Company, which owns the building, hasn't secured a new tenant for the space, said Mark Clouse, the company's general counsel and chief financial officer.

“We’ve had some discussion with them, and we're working closely to make sure it’s an easy transition," he said.

With its street access, the space could serve as a restaurant, office or retail space, Clouse said.

The shift to a virtual model will allow The Runway to put more of its money toward programming, said Joe Carr, managing director of The Runway.

With "Accelerating the Runway" — which will include workshops covering topics such as developing a fashion line, fashion law, sales and distribution — “we’re really going to distill this and create this focused program that’s going to help these start ups and entrepreneurs really jump up to the next level," he said.

Participants will have the option to purchase a ticket for one workshop or the entire eight-week course. Registration will open this summer.

The Runway has played a role in creating 24 new companies. The incubator aims to attract students and graduates from the six universities in Michigan that offer fashion as a major, said Meleena Herring, operations coordinator for The Runway.

“The Runway really helps to capture those individuals and help them stay here, create more jobs and opportunities and also just continue to build the culture here," she said. "It gives them a reason to want to stay instead of moving to Chicago or New York or LA."